Monitor Recommendation?

BeanheadUK

Hey all,

After only running a HTPC for years I've finally upgraded my PC for VR, with the new spec I've found myself returning to PC gaming, however, I've just not got on with sofa gaming and using my TV. Add to that I'm working more from home.

Got a proper desk and setup now but its missing the crucial monitor

I've got around £150 to spend but am willing to push it a bit if its worth it, the question is do I go for a decent 24" or the ultrawide equivalent? What are the pros and cons of not going ultrawide (seem to be cheaper?).

Any advice or recommendations appreciated.

Beans

EndlessWaves

You'll struggle to get the ultra-wide equivalent of 24" in budget. The bottom of the range one does occasionally come down to £150 but generally it's only the wide versions of 20" monitors that are within budget.

29" Ultrawide is the widened version of 23" 16:9, 25" ultrawide is a widened version of a 20" 16:9 screen - they're tiny screens.

You could consider the mini-ultrawides if you're sitting pretty close - 40-50cm - as they do make stuff rather small but otherwise a 23-24" 1920x1080 screen is a safe bet.

It doesn't make sense to buy a screen without Freesync so I'd rule any out that lack that. If it's the GTX 1080 in your sig you won't be able to use it unfortunately, Nvidia could easily drag their heels for a few more years. Although your PS4 seems likely to get it as soon as Sony add support to their TVs (possibly this year, possibly next).

If you wanted to push your budget you could look at a 144hz screens, you have a fast enough CPU for it.

You haven't mentioned anything on the work side, so I'm guessing that's not graphically dependant on anything.

BeanheadUK

Thank you man, really useful stuff. Yes you're right, unfortunately work wise it'll just be Excel and Word.

Here's what I'm leaning towards, it seems big enough and at 75Hz seems decent:

iiyama G-MASTER G2730HSU-B1 27

I didn't realise Freesync is AMD and G-Sync is nVidia.

EndlessWaves

G-sync is nVidia while Freesync is everyone else.

AMD were the driving force behind it but VESA incorporated into it the DisplayPort standard, Microsoft supports it on the Xbox, the HDMI forum adopted it for the latest HDMI 2.1 and Intel have stated they'll be supporting it - The Ice Lake processors launching this year look like a good bet.

I don't keep up with the individual models available so I can't help narrowing it down to an individual screen. That one looks good though, the larger screen at the same resolution lets you have it further back to give you more room in front of it which I personally prefer, although some people like the opposite.

bazzarelli

Good news, Nvidia just announced they will be supporting freesync, so you may be in luck.
Nvidia will bring G-Sync support to some FreeSync monitors